Stepping in for Karalexis is Midwest veteran Jason Reinhardt (20-1 MMA, 0-0 WEC), who will make his WEC debut at the event, which takes place Sept. 30 at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo. The change was first reported by MMAFighting.com and subsequently confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) by sources close to the event.

The reason for Karalexis’ withdrawal is unknown at this time, and WEC officials declined comment on the shake-up.

Zhang vs. Reinhardt is expected to take place on the non-televised portion of WEC 51.

It’s been more than two years since Reinhardt stepped into the cage. After going undefeated in his first 18 professional fights, he met Joe Lauzon at UFC 78 and was one-and-done with the promotion after a quick submission loss.

Reinhardt won his next two fights on the regional circuit, but he has been inactive since January 2008. The bulk of his career wins have come by armbar submission.

Zhang, a native of Inner Mongolia, has won all but one of his 11 professional fights in the first round – the time of stoppage on his first fight is unknown – and most recently dispatched Daniel Digby in 30 seconds in June’s Legend Fighting Championship 2.

It’s Zhang’s first fight in the US after signing a multi-fight deal with the WEC earlier this month.

For the latest on WEC 51, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

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